Director: Ramesh Varma Penmetsa
Cast: Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas, Anupama Parameshwaran, Rajiv Kanakala, Saravaran, Kasi Viswanath.
After his debut with Alludu Seenu almost exactly five years ago, Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas has been searching for a hit, and comes up the thriller ‘Rakshasudu’, a remake of the Tamil film ‘Ratsasan’. For Ramesh Varma, it’s a return to direction after three years.
Arun (Bellamkonda Sreenivas) is an aspiring director and meets many producers with his well-researched story on psycho killers but no one is interested. He then joins the police as a sub-inspector. A school girl is murdered and the killer leaves a toy with the body. Police suspects a few persons but Arun tells his bosses that these murders are planned. They ignore him and he starts investigating on his own.
The good thing about ‘Rakshasudu’ is that director Ramesh Varma hasn’t tinkered with the original. Like Ratsasan, the narration of Rakshasudu is gripping and there are many tense moments and the suspense continues till the end. Though it is a new genre for him, Ramesh Varma does not add unnecessary elements.
The protagonist doing research for a film on psycho killers and using that knowledge to solve murders is an interesting take. The story picks up once the young cop explains his theory.
For Bellamkonda Sreenivas, this is a welcome change from his action-based films. He has played a cop who dances earlier but this role is etched differently and Sreenivas is up to the task. This could well give him the break he was looking for.
Talented Anupama Parameshwaran makes the mark as the school teacher. Rajiv Kanakala does justice to the meaty role that he gets after a long time.
The background music is very important in a thriller and Ghibran wields the baton well. The background score is a big support for the film. The cinematography is equally good.
‘Rakshasudu’ is definitely a gripping thriller and director Ramesh Varma cracks it with this remake. Ghibran’s background score is one of the highlights.
